Web transfer system

ABSTRACT

Contouring of flexible webs to the interior of an elongated moving molding channel by the provision of specially located and specially shaped guiding devices, by the provision of special internal mold supports and by the selective overlapping of separate web sheets.

United States Patent [151 3,659,98 1

Ferstenberg 51 May 2, 1972 s41 WEB TRANSFER SYSTEM 1 1 References CM [72] Inventor: Charles Ferstenberg, Paramus, NJ. UNITED STATES PATENTS [73] Assignee: Tenneco Chemicals, Inc. 3,496,596 2/1970 Buff ..18/4 B 3,152,361 10/1964 Edwards ...18/4 8 1 Flled= June l, 1970 3,123,856 3/1964 Dye et al. mm B [2U 3,325,573 6/1967 Boon et a1. ..l8/4 B X Appl. No.: $4,048

Related U.S. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 696,070, Jan. 5, 1968, abandoned.

U.S. Cl ..425/89, 425/101, 425/4,

425/308, 425/817, 425/371 Int. Cl ..B29d 27/04 Field of Search 1 8/4 B, 5 P

Primary Examiner-H. A. Kilby, Jr.

Attorney-Christopher C. Dunham, Henry T. Burke, Robert Scobey, Robert S. Dunham, P. E. Henninger, Lester W. Clark, Gerald W. Griffin, Thomas F. Morgan and R. Bradlee Boal 5 7] ABSTRACT Contouring of flexible webs to the interior of an elongated moving molding channel by the provision of specially located and specially shaped guiding devices, by the provision of special internal mold supports and by the selective overlapping of separate web sheets.

13 Claims, 1 1 Drawing Figures Patented May 2, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet l mum/m2 CH/JAL ES fmyrsA/ai/ea By ,4 7'7'0 RA Ey Patented May 2, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet mun.

Patented May 2, 1972 3,659,981

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

WEB TRANSFER SYSTEM This application for United States Letters Patent is a Division of my copending United States patent application Ser. No. 696,070, filed Jan. 5, 1968, for Web Transfer System, and now abandoned.

This invention relates to the handling of elongated moving webs for changing the contour thereof, and more particularly it concerns novel arrangements for contouring such webs in a manner suitable for use in continuous molding operations.

The present invention is particularly advantageous in connection with continuous molding operations for the production of elongated foamed polyurethane material having a large contoured cross section, e.g. cylindrical, and an indefinite length; and in this connection the present invention, in one aspect, provides additions to the subject matter of US Pat. Nos. 3,281,904 and 3,296,658, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

As described in the above-mentioned patents, large diameter cylinders of foamed polyurethane are produced by pouring a liquid reaction mixture onto a surface, such as a web of sheet material, which moves slowly and continuously away from the pouring point in a slightly inclined direction. During this movement, the web is supported and shaped, as by segmented conveyors, so that it forms a mold in the configuration of a partially closed cylinder. As the reaction mixture travels along, it is supported in different configurations and passes over different surfaces on which a series of reaction stages occur; and these are manifested in a creaming, a thickening, a foaming, a rising and a solidifying of the reactants, whereby a foamed cellular product having the shape of the mold interior is produced at a downstream or output end of the mold. The thus-produced continuous cylinder is thereafter cut into individual lengths; and these lengths are mounted on machines and rotated against a knife blade which spirally peels them into elongated sheets.

The present invention permits the production of large crosssectional foamed products with a smooth and fissure-free outer surface. In part, the present invention is based upon the discovery that because of the manner in which foam reactants rise, i.e. by a mushroom effect, the rising foam itself is not capable of smoothing out wrinkles in the web which carries the foam reactants. As a result the rising foam may bridge over the spaces between inwardly protruding portions of such web wrinkles and entraps air or gas in the intervening spaces. This may result in the production of fissures, gas pockets and other deformations. Moreover, such deformations would be produced at or near the outer surface of the foamed cylinder and thereby result in large material lossesv Web wrinkling results from the fact that the web, which is usually of paper (although it may be of polyethylene or similar material), is drawn off a supply roll about which it is wound, in one direction (i.e. longitudinally), and is thereafter bent to curved configuration in another direction (i.e. transversely). Additionally, the web may be required to undergo bending in several different planes simultaneously. Because of the limited flexibility and extensibility of the web, these contour changes often result in the production of wrinkles, thereby deteriorating the quality of the mold to be formed by the web.

The present invention overcomes the above-described web wrinkle problem by means of novel web guiding arrangements.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a web, for example a sheet of chemically treated release paper, is caused to be withdrawn continuously from a roll and guided along the path of movement of the reacting mixture. Special guide means are provided to change the contour of the paper from an initially fiat configuration to curved or otherwise contoured configurations for shaping the rising foam. The positioning and orientation of each of the various web guiding means is selected to cause the web to undergo contour changes in a manner such that stretching variations across the web width are eliminated or at least minimized. This is achieved by guiding the web so as to provide a trajectory for each element across the web width which is of equal or nearly equal total length as the web moves from a position of one contour to a position of new contour.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, special inner and outer web support means are provided whereby the web is supported continuously, on both sides thereof along substantially its entire lateral extent to prevent buckling and the wrinkles which result therefrom. In this connection, it has been discovered that when the web is merely supported externally, as by an outer channel defining support, the web will buckle if the channel is of a size and shape to cause the lateral edges of the web to form upwardly protruding walls of significant height. This buckling problem has been overcome by providing a special internal support of the same general contour as the outer support so as to define between them a slotlike channel through which the web may pass without buckling. The special intemal support is specially configured so that its lower edges rise up just ahead of the upwardly rising expanding foam. Thus all along the foam-forming channel the web is supported internally in part by the foam and in further part by the internal support.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of individual sheets which are combined in a novel manner to form the overall foam molding web. As illustratively embodied, three separate sheets are provided, including a bottom sheet onto which the liquid reaction mixture is poured, and two side sheets which overlap slightly each of the two edges of the bottom sheet. The side sheets are guided along in a simple arc-shaped contour, while the bottom sheet undergoes variations in contour as it passes over a pouring surface, a weir, and a final configuration surface. Because of these transverse contour variations, the edges of the bottom sheet (which is of constant width) recede and extend laterally as the sheet moves along. The separate side sheets, however, are not affected by contour variations which affect the lateral positioning of the edges of the bottom sheet. The lateral movements of the bottom sheet edges are thereby easily accommodated and no wrinkles are produced since the overlapping edges of the bottom and side sheets easily slide over one another.

Various further and more specific objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the description given below, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example preferred forms of the invention.

FIG. I is a plan view, partially cut away illustrating the main portion of a foam molding apparatus in which the present invention is embodied;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, also partly cut away, of the foam molding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the foam molding apparatus as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-section view, taken 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-section view taken along line 5- 5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the input portion of the foam molding apparatus of the preceding figures;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a weir structure used in the system of FIGS. 1-6; and

FIGS. 8AB and FIGS. 9A-l3 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in which web wrinkling is avoided by the novel web guiding arrangements of the present invention.

In the foam molding apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, liquid reactants 10, such as those described in the aforementioned patents, are poured down through a nozzle 12 onto a support surface 14, and are moved along on the support surface while they react to form a cellular foamed product 16. The surface 14 is formed by a paper web 18. The web 18 is a composite made up of a bottom sheet 18a and two side sheets 18b and 180. The sheets making up the web 18 may be of paper; and they are treated with a coating which serves to permit release of the foamed product 16 after completion of the molding operation.

along line The bottom sheet 18a is withdrawn from a supply roll (not shown) by means of a pair of driven pinch rolls 20. The sheets pass along through a portal 22 and under the nozzle 12. The portal 22 is a structure which serves to support the nozzle 12 and the various piping and other equipment appurtenant to it. From the nozzle, the sheet proceeds through an entrance guide 23 and over a weir structure 24. From there it moves along through a molding channel 26.

The molding channel 26 is made up of an endless loop bottom conveyor 28 (FIG. 1), and a pair of side conveyors 30. The bottom conveyor 28 is of flat contour and provides bottom support for the molding channel. The side conveyors 30, as shown in FIG. I, are provided with a plurality of adjacent mold segments 32 which cooperate to form a continuous support for the web 18. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the segments 32 are shaped as arcs of cylinders along their surfaces defining the molding channel 26. The bottom and side conveyors 28 and 30 are driven in synchronism by synchronizing driving means 34 so that the channel 26 effectively moves continuously in the direction of an arrow A away from the nozzle 12.

A stationary internal mold support 36 is provided in the vicinity of the forward ends of the bottom and side conveyors 28 and 30. The internal mold support 36 is generally tubular in configuration; and as can be seen in FIG. 4, it fits closely inside the circular cross-section defined by the cooperating mold segments 32.

Turning now to FIG. 3, it will be seen that the mold support 36 extends rearwardly only a short distance in complete cylindrical configuration. Beyond this point it is cut away so that it tapers upwardly, first rather sharply, as indicated at 38, and then more shallowly, as indicated at 40. The upper interior portion of the mold support 36 is braced by a truss assembly 42. Means (not shown) are provided to suspend the mold support from above and to hold it in fixed position relative to the various conveyors 38 and 32.

The weir structure 24, as shown in FIGS. 3, 7 and 8, may be of sheet metal construction. As shown, it rises up in advance of the molding channel 26 to hold back a portion of the liquid reaction mixture until it has begun to gel.

Turning now to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the front or upstream end of the internal mold support 36 encircles the weir structure 24. As indicated above, the bottom sheet 18a of the web 18 passes over the weir structure 24. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 6 where the sheet 18a is shown to pass over the weir structure and into the mold support 36. The bottom sheet 180 is considerably wider than the weir structure itself. Accordingly, the edges of the sheet are bent upwardly to guide the sheet into the mold support 36. This is accomplished by means of the entrance guide 23. As shown, the entrance guide has lateral guide walls 56 and 58 which extend up in advance of and on each side of the weir structure 24. These lateral guide walls actually form a chute which forms the bottom sheet 18a into a particular configuration during its movement over the weir structure 24.

In FIG. 7 it will be seen that the chute, which is formed by the guide walls 56 and 58, is initially of trapezoidal configuration. The chute then tapers inwardly in the downstream direction, and the guide walls 56 are of greater length to accommodate the constant width of the bottom sheet 18a.

Thereafter, in the vicinity of the weir structure 24, the straight guide walls 56 blend into the curved guide walls 58. Further along, as can be seen in FIG. 6, the guide walls 58 taper outwardly in the downstream direction and eventually blend with the curved surface of the mold support 36.

Reverting to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the outer sheets 18b and 18c are shown to be drawn from side supply rolls 60 mounted with their axes extending in a vertical direction. The sheets 18b and 180 each pass around an associated guide roll 62. The guide rolls are slightly inclined to change the direction of motion of the sheets so that they will proceed along parallel to and in alignment with the sides of the molding channel 26.

The side sheets 18b and 18c, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, pass along the outside of the guide walls 56 and 58 of the weir structure 24, and along the outside of the internal mold support 36. However, they do pass through arc-shaped slots defined between the mold support 36 and the mold segments 32 of the side conveyors 30, as shown in FIG. 4. This provides lateral support on both surfaces of each of the side sheets 18b and 18c to prevent them from buckling. Thereafter, downstream of the entrance end of the mold support 36, where it tapers upwardly, the lower edges of the side sheets 18b and 18c come into overlapping contact with the lateral edges of the bottom sheet 18a, thereby forming the complete composite web which forms and supports the reacting mixture.

As indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bottom sheet pinch rolls 20 and the side sheet supply rolls 60 are also synchronously driven with the conveyors 28 and 30. This serves to maintain each of the sheets 18a, 18b and 180 in uniform movement and to prevent relative movement between any of the sheets and the conveyors. Thus the imposition of stress and consequent wrinkling in the sheets is avoided.

In operation of the system, the bottom and side conveyors 28 and 30 and the bottom sheet pinch rolls 20 and the side supply rolls 60 are all driven in synchronism through the synchronizing driving means 34. The liquid reaction mixture 10 is poured out from the noule 12 onto the bottom sheet 18a. The liquid runs down toward the weir structure 24 and into a pool 68. It then passes over the weir and proceeds along down through the channel 26.

The initial portion of the foam rise is contained by the lateral edges of the bottom sheet 180. Eventually, however, the foam rises beyond these lateral edges; and thereafter the side sheets 18b and 18c serve to provide the main lateral containment of the foam.

The side sheets 18b and 18c are initially supported fully on both sides by the mold segments 32 and the internal mold support 36, as shown in FIG. 4. However, as the foam rises, the mold support tapers upwardly away from it, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus the regions of the side webs vacated by the upwardly tapered internal mold support 36 are simultaneously occupied by the rising foam itself which presses the sheets out against the outer mold segments 32 before the sheets can buckle from their own weight and form wrinkles.

It will be appreciated that because of the various configurational changes which the bottom sheet 180 must undergo in passing over the weir structure 24 and into the channel 26. its lateral edges will sequentially project and recede in the lateral direction. This lateral web movement is easily accommodated in the present arrangement by virtue of the overlapping arrangement between the side and bottom sheets. The side sheets 18b and 18c thus may proceed along with a continuous curved contour and no lateral edge movement, while the lateral edge movement of the bottom sheet is readily absorbed in a greater or lesser overlapping of the adjacent sheets. In this manner the complications of transmitting lateral edge movements nearly completely around the girth of the mold, and the consequent production of web wrinkles are avoided.

FIGS. 8A-B and FIGS. 9A-B illustrate the manner in which the web handling arrangement of the present invention operates to reduce or eliminate web wrinkling during changes in its contour. As shown in FIG. 8A, a conventionally guided web moves along between a pair of parallel planes I and II; and in doing so it changes from fiat to curved contour. The plane I is defined by orthogonal lines X, and Y, while the plane II is defined by corresponding orthogonal lines X and Y The path of web movement is along a third plane Ill defined by a line B between planes I and II and the lines X, and X During the web movement, its outer edges 82 and 84 turn upwardly and inwardly to form the curved contour, while the center line 86 of the web proceeds along the center of plane Ill.

Turning now to FIG. 88, it will be seen that the web center line 86 reaches plane II before the web edges 82 and 84. As a result of this, the web edges 82 and 84 tend to continue to diverge in an upward direction as indicated by the arrows 82a and 84a. In order to cause the web to proceed along plane Ill and cause the web edges to follow paths parallel to this plane, as indicated by the dotted arrow 82b, 84b, it becomes necessary to stretch the outer web edges by an amount AS so that the entire web cross-section enters plane ll at the same time. This, however, produces unequal stretching across the web, with none in the center and a great deal along the edges. As a result of this unequal stretching, wrinkles may develop.

FIG. 9A illustrates web guidance in accordance with the present invention. Here, instead of changing web contour in plane III, the web 80 is caused to proceed initially from a distance Y, above plane HI and to converge with it as the web contour changes. Thus in this case the web center line 86 does not reach plane Ill until it also reaches plane I]. With this arrangement, as shown in FIG. 9B, the outer edges 82 and 84 will reach plane II at the same time so that the continual path of movement for all of the web lines 82, 84 and 86 will be in the direction of the parallel arrows 82b, 84b and 86b. The distance Y, is chosen so that the path of movement of each element across the web width from plane I to plane ll will be of substantially equal length. Known geometrical methods can be used in ascertaining the displacement Y taking into account, however, that the outer edges 82 and 84 must undergo displacements in both the X and Y directions.

The above principles are employed in connection with the modification of the contour of the bottom sheet 18a as it passes over various elevational modifications such as the weir structure 24. As can be seen from FIGS. 8A-B and FIGS. 9A-B, in order for the moving web to undergo changes in contour without wrinkling, its path of movement must change. That is, where the web edges taper inwardly in the X direction, the web center line must change its path of movement in the Y direction. Now in the case of passing over the weir structure 24, the center line of the bottom sheet 18a will change its path of movement in the Y direction. In order to prevent wrinkling, the outer edges of the web must change their path of movement in the X direction. That is, the web must taper inwardly. This inward tapering, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is achieved by the entrance chute walls 56 and 58. Also, as in the previous case, the amount of this taper should be chosen to ensure that each ray or longitudinal line along the web moves along a path or trajectory which is as close as possible in length to the path or trajectory of every other longitudinal line across the web. When this occurs, differential stresses are minimized and wrinkling is eliminated.

Although a certain specific embodiment of the invention is herein disclosed for purposes of explanation, further modifications thereof, after study of this specification, will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Reference should accordingly be had to the appended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent 1s:

1. ln apparatus for molding foamed cellular products from a liquid reaction mixture, means defining an elongated molding channel of given cross-section extending in a direction slightly tilted from the horizontal, an elongated web for carrying said liquid reaction mixture and the products formed thereof through said channel from its higher end to its lower end, and an inner support means constructed and arranged to hold said web against the sides of said elongated molding channel to prevent collapsing and wrinkling of said web, said inner support means extending substantially completely about the interior of said channel near its upper end and then tapering back in an upward direction toward its lower end so as to extend around the interior of the channel to a point slightly above the rising foam being formed by said liquid reaction mixture at each given location along the length of said channel, whereby said web at each location along said channel is held against the interior surfaces of said channel at each crosssectional location therealong in first part by the rising foam and in further part by said inner support means.

2. Apparatus as m claim 1 wherein said means defining said molding channel comprises a plurality of conveyors each formed with cooperating support elements contoured to fonn the outer surfaces of said channel.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said inner support means is maintained stationary relative to the movement of said conveyors.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said apparatus includes means for guiding at least a portion of said web between said inner support means and said conveyors.

5. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said conveyor support elements are contoured to define a generally cylindrical contour and wherein at least the forward portion of said inner support member is cylindrical in shape.

6. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the molding channel is open at the top thereof and said inner support means is mounted from overhead suspension means.

7. In a system for continuously forming foamed cellular material from a liquid reaction mixture the combination of, a reaction mixture supply nozzle, a conveyor system defining a mold channel of given cross-section which moves along in a downstream direction away from said reaction mixture supply nozzle, stationary means downstream of said supply nozzle and defining various configurations to be undergone by reactants which proceed along from said nozzle and through said channel, three web sheets and associated means for drawing said sheets from a location upstream of said nozzle, past said nozzle and down through said channel, one of said sheets being positioned to span and ride over said stationary means, each of said remaining sheets being positioned to overla a different lateral edge of said one sheet to accommodate lateral edge movement of said one sheet resulting from its passage over said stationary means.

8. A combination as in claim 7 wherein said means for drawing said sheets is synchronized with said channel to move said sheets at the same rate as said channel moves.

9. A combination as in claim 7 wherein said stationary means comprises a flat liquid-receiving surface tilted down away from said supply nozzle, a weir configuration rising up from the downstream end of said liquid-receiving surface and a foaming surface extending downstream from the upper edge of said weir configuration.

10. A combination as in claim 9 wherein said weir configuration protrudes upstream in the center thereof.

11. A combination as in claim 9 wherein said flat liquidreceiving surface and said weir configuration are formed with upstanding side walls.

12. A combination as in claim 11 wherein said one sheet passes over said stationary means and between said side walls, and wherein the other sheets pass around the outside of said side walls.

13. A combination as in claim 7 wherein said other sheets are provided with lateral support over substantially their en tire surface on both sides thereof in the vicinity of said sta-' tionary means.

i t I! III 

1. In apparatus for molding foamed cellular products from a liquid reaction mixture, means defining an elongated molding channel of given cross-section extending in a direction slightly tilted from the horizontal, an elongated web for carrying said liquid reaction mixture and the products formed thereof through said channel from its higher end to its lower end, and an inner support means constructed and arranged to hold said web against the sides of said elongated molding channel to prevent collapsing and wrinkling of said web, said inner support means extending substantially completely about the interior of said channel near its upper end and then tapering back in an upward direction toward its lower end so as to extend around the interior of the channel to a point slightly above the rising foam being formed by said liquid reaction mixture at each given location along the length of said channel, whereby said web at each location along said channel is held against the interior surfaces of said channel at each cross-sectional location therealong in first part by the rising foam and in further part by said inner support means.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said means defining said molding channel comprises a plurality of conveyors each formed with cooperating support elements contoured to form the outer surfaces of said channel.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said inner support means is maintained stationary relative to the movement of said conveyors.
 4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said apparatus includes means for guiding at least a portion of said web between said inner support means and said conveyors.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said conveyor support elements are contoured to define a generally cylindrical contour and wherein at least the forward portion of said inner support member is cylindrical in shape.
 6. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the molding channel is open at the top thereof and said inner support means is mounted from overhead suspension means.
 7. In a system for continuously forming foamed cellular material from a liquid reaction mixture the combination of, a reaction mixture supply nozzle, a conveyor system defining a mold channel of given cross-section which moves along in a downstream direction away from said reaction mixture supply nozzle, stationary means downstream of said supply nozzle and defining various configurations to be undergone by reactants which proceed along from said nozzle and through said channel, three web sheets and associated means for drawing said sheets from a Location upstream of said nozzle, past said nozzle and down through said channel, one of said sheets being positioned to span and ride over said stationary means, each of said remaining sheets being positioned to overlap a different lateral edge of said one sheet to accommodate lateral edge movement of said one sheet resulting from its passage over said stationary means.
 8. A combination as in claim 7 wherein said means for drawing said sheets is synchronized with said channel to move said sheets at the same rate as said channel moves.
 9. A combination as in claim 7 wherein said stationary means comprises a flat liquid-receiving surface tilted down away from said supply nozzle, a weir configuration rising up from the downstream end of said liquid-receiving surface and a foaming surface extending downstream from the upper edge of said weir configuration.
 10. A combination as in claim 9 wherein said weir configuration protrudes upstream in the center thereof.
 11. A combination as in claim 9 wherein said flat liquid-receiving surface and said weir configuration are formed with upstanding side walls.
 12. A combination as in claim 11 wherein said one sheet passes over said stationary means and between said side walls, and wherein the other sheets pass around the outside of said side walls.
 13. A combination as in claim 7 wherein said other sheets are provided with lateral support over substantially their entire surface on both sides thereof in the vicinity of said stationary means. 